On December 7 & 8, alumnus Matthew Dean will join acclaimed vocalists for the annual Handel’s Messiah in Rockefeller Chapel. Tickets

How long have you been involved in the annual Messiah performance in Hyde Park?  Has it changed at all over the years?

My first Messiah in Hyde Park was as a newly-arrived College student in December of 1996. My father was so energized by the performance he got his first speeding ticket in two decades driving home with the Hallelujah Chorus in his heart and feet. Later, I loved singing the work with my wife-to-be Katie (AB ’01), who could nail the fioratura in And He Shall Purify. A running joke in my circle for over 15 years has been the pantomiming of prior director Randi Von Ellefson’s committed facial and hand gestures on the word “SLAIN!” of the final chorus: the choral experience distilled in one spine-tingling moment.

In my memory, audiences, light, and atmosphere have always been great, while the exact forces and setlist comprising the performance have rotated. I do enjoy the current balance of opportunities for student and professional singers and instrumentalists James (Kallembach) and Barbara Schubert have developed, and the fact we’re back up to two performances for this wonderful community. It continues to humble and amaze me that I have had the chance to solo from the same stage as William Watson, Calland Metts, and Trevór Mitchell (among others), strong tenors I emulated as a student chorister and have had the pleasure of working alongside more recently.

For many singers, both soloists and choristers, the Holiday Season is synonymous with “Messiah Season.”  Do you have a favorite memory of the first time you sang Handel’s famous work?  

To sing Hallelujah!, my high school choir director Brad Jones told us, you have to get through the melismas in For Unto Us a Child Is Born, and he drilled those with us each year, to my eventual delight. I was gratefully reflecting on this advice and preparation last week while singing three full Messiahs as a chorister and soloist with Bella Voce alongside consummate period orchestra The Callipygian Players, several of whose number also perform regularly at the Chapel. The confidence and humor of Handel’s writing, and the genius of Jennens’ libretto, hold new secrets and assurances for me each time I’m able to take part in a performance. My very patient kids hum along with me as I warm up on Messiah passages every day this season.

When you were a student here at the University of Chicago, what was your primary academic interest?

Anthropology in The College, and Art History as a graduate student: I was most interested in the relationship between ritual and architecture, and particularly the repurposing of sanctuaries and objects in colonial contexts. The connection of sound to space is a key to all of this, a recognition that may explain why I spent more time in choir rehearsals and musical manuscripts than in class. When I took part in summer archaeological survey work in Spain in the late 90s as a student and teaching assistant, I sought out local musicians and gave piano and vocal recitals at a convent in which we were housed.

Where are you from originally?  What brought you to Chicago?

Villa Park, IL, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, respectively.

As a 6th grade student in the Western suburbs, my Social Studies class took a field trip to the Oriental Institute. I was captivated by the mummies and ancient Near Eastern gaming objects. After one look into the Gothic quadrangles, I figured if it was good enough for Indy’s mentor Abner Ravenwood, it was just right for me.

Interview by Julia Tobiska, Performance Program Assistant